National Novel Writing Month or better known as NaNoWriMo (NaNo)

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing. On November 1, participants begin working towards the goal of writing a 50,000-word novel by 11:59 PM on November 30. Valuing enthusiasm, determination, and a deadline, NaNoWriMo is for anyone who has ever thought fleetingly about writing a novel.

To NaNo or not to NaNo? This is my question of the month. Editing one book while writing another book fills my agenda for the rest of this year. This doesn’t include NaNo. I take that back because NaNoWriMo has been on my mind more than I care to think about. Is my muse betraying me by nudging [forcing] me to be consumed with it right now?

IF, and this is a big “IF” I do NaNoWriMo this year, I might have to be a Rebel. Yes, this counts and NaNo recognizes it.

I’ve been known to color outside of the lines.

But, there are some who don’t agree with being a REBEL. If writing 50K words to a novel in thirty days like everyone else, I see no difference. Of course we can’t count anything already written. Some of my close author friends don’t agree with being a Rebel, although no one has called me a cheater, in so many words.

This will be my fifth NaNoWriMo. How do I pass up a “five year” milestone?

How about you? Will you be a NaNo participant this year? Have you ever participated?

Have you heard of NaNoWriMo?

I ask this because even my local librarian never heard of it until I mentioned it to him. Not that he planned on doing anything about it. In my writers’ mind, I thought it would be a good idea to have a write-in there. Not so with him. He wanted to know how much it would cost them and basically, was the least bit interested in finding out. *Eye Roll*

In 2015, I plan on bringing another book into the Bull Rider Series and this book could be my NaNo project. The thing is, nothing is planned for this book, except in my head. (Well, a vague plan…um, maybe.)

On the other hand, I’m also writing the third book in the Double Dutch Ranch series, and readers are waiting for this book. See my dilemma?

Believe me—going into NaNo with no plans can suck. This coming from a pantster. A pantster who has learned to plot, if that makes sense.

In my own words:

Plotter=Your story is planned out from beginning to end.

Pantster=Sit down and write your little fingers to the bone by the seat of your pants. Better known as “just sit your butt down and write.”

Mary=A little bit of each. Maybe 89% plotter these days. In the past I was 87% pantster. The more writing I do, I’ve discovered the more I have to plot. I’ve published three full length books this year with one more planned. Yes, plotting has helped.

I’m anxious to hear if you’re a plotter or pantster.

Plotting and planning can happen to creative souls in general I’d think. I take photos of whatever I see unless I’m looking for something in particular. My son photographs foot races when he isn’t participating. He goes out days before to scope out the trail/route, etc., and plans out where he will take photos, at what shutter speed, lighting, and whatever else he comes up with for the perfect shot. He’s a plotter and doesn’t realize it. (I took this image while walking along a river trail. Someone painted this beneath an overpass. The photo wasn’t planned, but there it was waiting. Having my camera with me was planned.) I digress…

By the way, NaNoWriMo entails writing 50K words in thirty days, and boils done to 1,667 words a day. Some of my author friends write 5K a day or more.

Being a full time writer, making the word count won’t be a problem for me, but…as I said in the beginning, I’m working on two books now, and one is due out in December.

Now, if only my spell checker would agree to the way I spell NaNoWriMo and Pantster.

Welcome to the 30th week of My Sexy Saturday and our final Saturday of 2013.

From My Sexy Saturday Blog: Have you ever noticed as a writer or reader that sometimes the setting more than helps with the romance? Sexy you tonight can be about that moonlit walk on the beach. Or how about star gazing in the desert. Or maybe just a beautiful pool in the hero’s backyard. They all sexy you tonight. Where sexy is can be just as important as just being sexy. Whether it is on the highest mountain top, in the deepest ocean or in space, it will be special for your characters. So give us your best sexy you tonight. Tell us about that special place where only lovers go.

From Howdy, Ma’am. The first book in the Bull Rider Series. Set-up: Before the season begins, Velia and Caulder are getting to know each other. It has to start somewhere—

The setting is a star-studded sky over the Sonoran Desert and two bottles of wine help break the ice so to speak, beginning with a little small talk.Spending the night in a mansion can only add to Velia’s night with the bull rider.

“Do you think I wear a cowboy hat for nothing? Of course I shoot. Did you ever shoot skeet?”

“No, but I watched my father and his friends.” Velia giggled. “Who you fooling, you ain’t no real cowboy. So says you.”

“Damn, you’re good.” Caulder laughed. “It’s time you tried.” He grabbed her hand. “Come on, the sun is setting and I want you to see this.”

Caulder lit a fire in the pit and they sat in comfortable, wooden deck chairs with a glass of red wine and the bottle between them. “Here it goes. Watch before it drops off the face of the earth. Look, there it goes, going, going, almost gone.”

They relaxed in quiet until the burning ball dropped all the way below the horizon leaving a flaming orange sky in its wake. The foreground glowed, amazingly changing colors before their eyes. The tall cacti stood silhouetted against the blazing backdrop. Shadows became more prominent against the mountains, and the sky turned red behind them, leaving the rock face glowing. It wasn’t long before the sky darkened to deep purple, midnight blue, and then black. Caulder opened the second bottle of wine. “This one is for the zillion stars you’re about to see. And if we’re lucky, we might see a shooting star or two.”

“I love shooting stars.” Velia gazed at the darkness above. “I love the sky when it’s littered with twinkles. I never saw this in Chicago, even atop the Hancock Building.” Velia laughed, feeling comfortable beside this near stranger.

“I’ve seen it a lot. That’s why I want it now. In Pennsylvania, we have lots of property and we’re away from city lights. Yep, always had twinkles in my sky.”

Last week I mentioned a new book cover would be made for Cowboy Boss and his Destiny. Dawné Dominique finished it the same weekend. I’ve also tweaked the blurb which can be found on the Cowboy Boss and his Destiny page. This isn’t an official cover reveal because I’ve already done that with the first cover, but I do want to show it off. For information on why I’ve changed covers, feel free to go to a previous post where I talked about it. More info about the books in this series is there, too.

More News: The final edits are finished on this book. Expect it to be released in early January 2014.All three books in this series will be published in 2014. I’m excited.

Sensual Contemporary Western Romance ~ Books in the Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight are lighter in content—and these books are written in the romance genre without the drama of my books written under my blend of romance/women’s fiction.

Please take a moment to check out this New Release by Rhonda Laurel, Author of Contemporary Romance. Visit her website for much more. Enjoy~

Links to Connect with Rhonda Laurel, Buy links, and More can be found below!

Book Title:The Blake Legacy

Release Date: November 15, 2013

Series Info: The Blake Boys – Book 3

Book 1 – For the Love of the Game

Book 2 – MVP

Tag Line:Two lovers. Two dreams. One hell of a hard decision…

Book Blurb:

NFL quarterback Seth Blake is having an unbelievable hot streak—he’s won his third Super Bowl title the same day his wife Morgan gave birth to their son. Life couldn’t be better for the new father and MVP. His contract with the Philadelphia Titans expires in a year, giving him a chance to make a professional dream come true: to play in his home state for the Texas Wildcats and return to his much-missed Twelve Horseshoes Ranch—this time, for good.

Morgan Reed-Blake has never been happier. She’s got the best husband, the cutest baby, and she’s successfully juggling career and family. Her bookstore is expanding, her charitable organization is growing, and she’s been offered her dream job on the literacy council. Everything in her Philadelphia world is coming up roses. Until Seth’s contract with the Titans expires, and his dream of returning home comes close enough to touch…and the powers that be in Texas start romancing Seth in earnest. Morgan and Seth both have dreams. But a choice has to be made…

Check Rhonda’s book trailer link at the end of the excerpt. It’s awesome!

Excerpt:

Seth Blake begrudgingly prepared for the impromptu press conference in the hospital amphitheater. He didn’t know how his publicist, Daniel, had managed to organize it, but there was a media circus waiting down stairs to interview him. After he’d won the Super Bowl, Seth had found out his wife, Morgan, had gone into labor, and he’d run out of the stadium so fast there had been no time for interviews and congratulatory fanfare.

Now he held his son, Seth Jacob Blake Jr., in his arms, celebrating his third win in a row was the last thing on his mind.

Morgan assured him that she and the baby would be fine for an hour without him. Despite the fact that their entire family stood outside in the hallway, he took the quickest shower of his life, peeking out of the bathroom from time to time to check on them. Morgan looked radiant, despite not having slept the past seventeen hours. The nurses wanted to make her more comfortable, but she wasn’t interested in anything that required taking the baby out of her arms.

Seth changed and shaved, but he still wasn’t ready to go. As far as he was concerned, seeing his son being born was the most exciting and fulfilling thing that had happened all day.

He sighed. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

Morgan smiled at him. “Take all the time you need. You did it. You’re a third time MVP and Super Bowl champ. This is your moment.”

“This right here is my moment.” He leaned in and kissed her and the baby.

“The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.” Morgan shooed him out of the room.

Seth stepped out into the hall and came face to face with the Blake and Reed clans.

“Congrats again, baby.” His mother, Teri-Lyn, gave him a big squeeze. “Sydney and I will go in with Morgan while you do your press conference.”

“I went back to the hotel and got her hospital bag.” Michelle, who was standing next to Seth’s brother Tyler, pointed to the bag in a chair. “Thank goodness my neurotic friend packed one just in case.”

Tyler smirked at him. “If he picks up a football while you’re down there, I promise I’ll come and get you.”

“That’s not funny, Tyler.” Seth punched his brother in the arm.

“I don’t know about a football, but maybe he’ll pick up a guitar,” Seth’s best friend, Tate McGill, said behind them.

“You’re both wrong,” Channing, his youngest brother, said. “One look at him and you can tell he’s a genius. It’s clear he wants to study law.”

Seth shot all of them evil looks, but he enjoyed the endless possibilities for his son’s life. He and Morgan had talked about the dreams they had for their child before he was born. Morgan had assured Seth she was OK with his secret desire for his son to one day be a football player in his own right. Both agreed as long as he was happy and healthy, Seth Jacob Blake Jr. could carve out whatever life he wanted for himself.

* * *
As soon as Seth stepped into the crowded amphitheater, his team began chanting their battle cry. Cameras started flashing and reporters fired questions at him from around the room. He moved toward the stage and was greeted by his good friend and team mate Patton Hawkes. Patton gave him a hug and took a seat next to Seth at the center table.

“Seth, how’s your wife?” a reporter yelled from the back of the room.

“She’s fine. The baby’s fine. I couldn’t ask for a better day than this.” Seth ran a hand over his face.

“Boy or girl?” someone else shouted.

“A boy. His name is Seth Jacob Blake Jr. And before anyone asks, he will be a quarterback.” Seth grinned and winked.

The room erupted in laughter. Technical questions about the game began to flow, and he was grateful he could answer on autopilot. He congratulated the team and reinforced the group effort involved to win, thanking each of them for playing their best. Everyone agreed that his fifty-five yard pass to Lamont to score the winning touchdown was the greatest play of the game.

“How does it feel to achieve three Super Bowl wins in a row, something no team has ever achieved before?” The million-dollar question came from the back of the room.

Seth tugged on his ear. “It feels great, but it’s also a humbling experience. This achievement shows how dedicated every player was on the team to doing our jobs, and in the process we made a little football history.”

“Being three time MVP ain’t bad either, is it?”

The crowd roared.

“The honor of being named MVP is never to be taken lightly, and I have much respect for it. Somebody thought I was doing something right, and I appreciate that. But if I didn’t work with exceptional people, there would be no title.”

“Seth, what were you thinking when you threw the ball to Lamont?” a sports reporter for Sports Now yelled out.

“I was thinking, Lamont, if you never catch another pass I throw you, this is the one you should catch.” Seth laughed.

“Were you aware your wife was in labor during the game?”

“No. She told my family that under no circumstances was anyone allowed to tell me she was in labor until the game was over.” He shook his head, smiling.

Patton grabbed the microphone off the stand in front of him. “And before anyone asks, I am the godfather to his son.”

There was rumbling among the team about why Patton should have the honor. Seth covered his mic with his hand, leaned over, and whispered to Patton, “Thanks, man.”

“They’ll get over it,” Patton spoke into his microphone.

Damn. The rumblings grew louder. Seth had to defuse the situation before it blew up in his face. “Our wives are good friends. Nina was always there to help Morgan during the pregnancy.”

His teammates kept grumbling but gradually went quiet, and Seth tried not to wipe sweat off his brow. Questions about the game resumed, and Seth fired off responses as quickly as he could, anxious to get back to his family. He didn’t want to miss a minute of the first day of his son’s life. He did his best to be polite, but after forty-five minutes, he informed everyone he was headed back upstairs. After a brief conversation with Daniel and his agent, Luke, Seth slipped out a side door and headed for the elevator.

“Great game today,” a familiar voice said from the direction of the reception area.

Seth turned to see T.K. Holbrook, a friend of his father’s and one of the richest men in Texas. T.K. was also the owner of the football team the Texas Tomcats. T.K. had courted Seth throughout his football career to play for him, but timing was never on their side.

“Thanks, T.K.” Seth shook his hand.

“And congratulations on your baby boy. John Jacob let me get a peek at him; he’s a handsome little devil. I see a Super Bowl in his future.”

Seth laughed. “I’m hopeful.”

“If he does, then maybe a Blake will finally play for the Tomcats.” T.K. winked at him.

The elevator door opened, and Seth held out his hand to keep it ajar.

T.K. hitched up his pants. “I knew you could do it. I knew you would take the Titans to glory when you signed that contract. I regret I couldn’t get to you first.”

“Well, the timing wasn’t right. Things seemed to have fallen into place for a reason.” Seth smiled.

T.K. nodded at Seth’s sentiment. “You’ve given them three Super Bowl wins. I knew you were a champion the first time I saw you play in grade school. Your father and I would talk about that all the time when you were a boy. We both knew you’d be in the Hall of Fame one day.”

“It’s a little early for that. But everything I’ve done in my career was to work toward being an exemplary player and to make my family proud.” Seth held out his hand again when the elevator door began making a jerking movement.

“Well, you’ve definitely done that. Listen, I know you want to get back to your family. Congratulations again.”

“Thank you for stopping by, T.K. I appreciate it.” Seth nodded.

“Your contract with the Titans is up in a year, right?” T.K. rubbed his chin.

Seth had to think about it for a moment. There had been so much going on he’d forgotten about his expiring contract. “Yes,” Seth said as he stepped inside the elevator.

T.K. smiled and tipped his hat.

The elevator doors closed, leaving Seth alone to process T.K’s surprise visit. A few years ago the possibility of playing in Texas would have been his biggest dream come true.

The elevator opened again, and he was surprised to see the corridor leading to Morgan’s room empty. Seth gently opened the door to her room to find her nursing the baby.

Morgan looked up when he walked in. “We were just talking about you.”

“Is that right?” Seth sat on the bed and caressed her cheek.

“I was telling Jake about what a great game his dad played today.”

“Jake? That’s a nice nickname.”

“It was not my idea. The family got together and decided that S.J. sounded pretentious. Your father said he looked like a Jake. After that decision was made, they shifted to where he would go to college. I kicked everyone out.” Morgan flashed a cheesy smile.

Seth shook his head. “You didn’t.”

“I love them all, but they were driving me crazy. I threatened to institute a demerit system on visitation tomorrow. How did the press conference go?”

“I told everyone you were holding the next Blake quarterback in your arms.”

Morgan giggled. “No pressure on your son at all. Your dad brought in this man he said was an old friend of the family. His name was T.K. Holbrook. Did you see him?”

“I ran into him downstairs.” Seth moved her bangs out of her eyes for her. Her hands were a bit full after all.

“Good. He seemed anxious to talk to you. I got the feeling it was about more than a congratulatory chat. What did he say?” Morgan furrowed her eyebrows.

“He wanted to congratulate me on the baby and the win today.”

The sound of Jake’s suckling noises echoed through the room.

Seth couldn’t help but grin. “Boy is he hungry.”

“He’s going to have your big appetite.”

Seth kept watching, entranced. Morgan had to cough to bring his attention back to her face.

“Yes?”

“You do know my breasts won’t remain this size?”

He smirked. “They might.”

“Well, if I go back down to my normal cup size, maybe you’ll start looking me in the face again.” Morgan arched her eyebrow.

Seth held his hand to his chest, feigning indignation. “I beg your pardon. I was just admiring the luscious view.”

“Well, I got a spare tire to go with the bigger boobs.” She groaned.

“Morgan Blake, you are beautiful, right now, just the way you are.” Seth kissed her tenderly on the lips.

Need I say more? This reveal has been a long time coming! The cover and blurb for the second book in the Bull Rider Series.

Hey, Cowboy #2 Coming 2013

Blurb

The rowdy bull rider and classy Italian are at it again!

In Hey, Cowboy, a break in the season finds Velia Armano and Caulder McCutchen back in Tucson, Arizona. Family, friends, and rowdy cowboys are brought together to share in their joy…and sometimes their pain.

The last year with Caulder has given her trust and strength like she’s never known. But, her strength is weakened. Enemies harbor a vendetta against her and her family…and anyone who gets in their way. Fear will not dictate her happiness or rob her of a future filled with love.

Caulder vows to protect Velia, yet little does he know the lengths he’ll have to go— He learns that sometimes a hero has to prove he is one.

He’d like to give her the world, be the man she needs, but an injury during break threatens his career. How can he give her everything when his future hangs in the balance?

All they ask for is a peaceful life together—a new bull riding season with a chance to win the coveted gold buckle, and their happily ever after.

Happiness is within reach if their burning love is strong enough to overcome enemies plotting against Velia’s family—and a possible career-ending injury for Caulder.

Come along and see what happens when the feisty Italian takes a longer ride with the rowdy bull rider.

Excerpt

Velia, a Bull Rider? Yee-Haa

“Fun! Si, now I want to ride a real toro,” Torre said, jumping off the mechanical bull, making his way back.

“Hey, McCutchen, you riding that thing?”

Everyone got quiet.

Caulder turned and acknowledged the patron. The question came from an older man sitting at the bar. “Nope. Sponsors don’t allow it.”

“We can get some big money going on here.”

“No, thanks.” The man mumbled something to the bartender, but Caulder ignored him. It wasn’t the first time he’d been challenged. Hell yeah, he’d love to put them all in their place and shut them up, but that was the old days. He helped Torre over the rail and out of the cushioned pit. The other men watching went back to their seats and Dan turned to join them.

“Wait, I want a ride,” Velia said, throwing a glance Caulder’s way.

“Come on, the food’s there,” he said taking her arm.

“No, it’s my turn, babe.” She glanced to their table. “It hasn’t arrived yet.” Velia shook her arm free, kicked off her shoes, and stumbled through the soft cushioned area until she reached the bull.

Caulder went right behind her. “If you’re going to do this I have to give some instructions so you don’t break something.”

“Yeah, I’m with a bull rider, but I haven’t picked this up through osmosis.” Velia giggled and threw her leg over. “Now I get to see what you go through.”

“You had nine months of bull riding, girly girl. Yes, one hand in the air. Don’t you look at the photos you take?”

Velia rolled her eyes and he almost laughed. “If you’re doing this, it’s going to be right so you don’t get thrown off on your ass.” Torre laughed behind him when he cursed.

“Keep your body loose. When it’s time to jump off, lift your leg over and jump down.” He looked at her wide eyes. “Ready?”

Velia nodded and Caulder walked back to stand beside the operator. Men sitting at the bar turned around. Great. Gawkers. Here it comes. I hope I don’t have to punch someone in front of the kid.

He watched Velia adjust her hand in the makeshift bull rope and she wiggled her rear-end around on the fake fur seat. Nice jeans! As usual, she’s distracting me in those damn denim Wranglers.

Velia glanced at him and then peered at Dan.

“Take it easy with her,” said Caulder.

“Yep…” he said with a smirk. “We like when women get on the bull.”

Caulder didn’t like his snicker at all.

The bull started out going in a slow circle and Velia glanced over at him and smiled. Dammit, her gorgeous smile, too, just what we need. He wasn’t the only one who noticed. When the bull rocked back and forth and twirled in a faster circle her eyes got as big as silver-dollar pancakes. Caulder watched her body move in almost slow motion as she arched her back, shoving her pelvis forward with each new rock.

Men at the bar made their way over, close enough for whispers amongst themselves to be heard. He knew this would happen, but at the moment they appeared in control, and he took a sideways glance to keep their positions in check. Caulder continued to watch her, his insides smiling, outside hardening. He folded his hands in front of him.

Dan sped up the bull to level three…

Hey, Cowboy #2 Coming soon!

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Howdy, Ma’am is a stand-alone book. Hey, Cowboy Bk 2 is not. See the page here, or on my website for more information on the first book in the Bull Rider Series.

UPDATE: This book did not turn into a novella or a holiday story. It is most definitely a full-length novel and one of my favorites. This is the first book in the Double Dutch Ranch Series, and I haven’t stopped since. See Cowboy Boss and his Destiny links for more. I knew it was hard for me to write a shorter story, but, on the other hand, since Cowboy Boss, I have written a short novel to go with Cowboy Boss. Tristan’s Destiny, Bonus Book, #1.5 follows and is available. All my books are in the sidebar or links at the top. Thanks for visiting.

I’ve been kind of quiet about my new project. I’ll be doing a cover reveal and blurb before long… This one is a contemporary western romance novella.

Novella? Longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel—between 30,000 and 60,000 words. Since I have a problem writing shorter works, I’m planning my word count to be around 60K.

The town in the book has a fictitious name, but I do mention real surrounding towns. It gives me freedom to add or take away—to write from the heart of my stubborn little muse. If she wants a Macy’s, she’ll think it will magically appear. I still maintain a little control over her in this story. The only Macy’s I’ll allow in in this book is a western shop selling boots and hats.

This story will have a holiday theme; therefore, I expect it to be out late November, earlier if possible. So far the words are flowing like crazy. The idea of how the hero and heroine met came to me years ago, and I did start another story with this meeting, but it never went anywhere. Apparently, it wasn’t the right time or story. I see why now because this is the right story.

My muse searched for the perfect cowboy. My cover designer did an awesome job with the cover as usual. I searched through pages and pages to find a cowboy who hasn’t been used on a cover yet. If he has, I haven’t’ seen him.

With so many western novels out there, this feat is not easy. I’m not going with J.T. this time because I think it’d be confusing with the Bull Rider Series featuring Jimmy as the hero in those two books. Plus, I do have another one with Jimmy Thomas to be released later in 2014. (Sorry, J.T. You know I love you.)

I’ll also add this to Goodreads soon—as another upcoming book. Howdy, Ma’am and Hey, Cowboy can be added, now.

*The reason for the cover reveal so soon is because I’ll be re-uploading a revised copy of Howdy, Ma’am to Amazon and Smashwords with the two new book links and blurb in the back of the book, so the link on my website will have to be live.

The video? I hope you guys don’t get bored with videos in my posts. The little girl in my book begs her daddy to buy her Alan Jackson music. This song is on my book’s playlist. My hero was swept away when he heard “Right Where I Want You.” Now, to convince the heroine.

*(Hey, Cowboy cover reveal will follow when I get the blurb to make sense. HC goes to the editor in August.)

I never would have done this challenge on my own, but I borrowed the topic from my good friend David at http://barsetshirediaries.wordpress.com/ who actually borrowed the idea from someone he follows—and her Top Ten Favorite Movies Blog Challenge.

I’m addicted to sappy, romantic movies but once in awhile I have to throw in Bond or some other dramatic movie to shake me back into reality and make me stop crying from all the “sappy romantic movies”.

SKYFALL

James Bond with Daniel Craig. We might as well add all the Daniel Craig James Bond movies here while we’re at it. Oh, and of course, Bond, James Bond Sean Connery. My son’s middle name is Sean. No connection. ;-) Maybe.

HIGHLANDER

All of them. Weighing in on the last one though. Sean Connery played in the first one, maybe others. Loved the ponytail.

GHOST

Still can’t watch without crying

SOMEWHERE in TIME

Sigh. Takes place in my state on Mackinac Island—a beautiful island. What can I say? I stood at the same tree and whispered to my boyfriend, “Is it you?” It wasn’t him. This movie inspired me to write a time-travel romance.

MOONSTRUCK

I love it for many reasons. The Italian family, the opera, Cher, bad ass Nicolas Cage, and everything else, too.

So sorry it took so long to post Part Two– The Journey– the Howdy, Ma’am Time Line. I couldn’t get it out when I had planned. All the better because I can put a “real” end to it now.

Part One left off at September 2011 after I sat down to finish writing the book. Part Two covers another fifteen months. Whew! What a journey.

Onward–

October— On October 4th I became a widow instead of a divorcee.

October— Somehow I kept at it. A week before NaNoWriMo 2011 began, Howdy, Ma’am was finished. I repeat, Finished! It gave me time to plot out a new story for 2011. I don’t know where the idea came from, or how I could think of creating anything new, but once again writing became my solace.

November — My plan was to set it aside until after Nano and that would give me a month away from it before tackling another revision and edit. NaNo came and went as did November.

December— I continued with the Nano 2011 novel, wanting to get to a certain point before setting it aside. This will be a great story when finished, and it falls under the women’s fiction category.

Second Year

2012— Then the unexpected happened—this time positive. I got the rights back to Visions of Enchantment. I was so thrilled I started revising it rightaway, but Howdy, Ma’am pestered me from the inner sanction of my mind. It must be where my muse lives.

The next thing I knew, I was trying to work on both books. Lo and behold, within a couple months I acquired the rights back to Enchantment’s Embrace, Book Two. Now what? I had three huge completed books to revise. Working on two at the same time began to drive me nutty and I had to make a decision.

That decision was to get busy on Howdy, Ma’am and do nothing else until it was finished. So, I started down the path of editing and revising again. After the first run through I put it aside for a week. But the cowboy called me back in less than a week, and I diligently worked on that book. Don’t ask how many edits and revisions it’s been through because I don’t know, but let’s say many, and we can add a capital “M” to many. The time had come to order a different book cover.

By time the story was finished and took shape, I had fallen in love with the characters and the story. My heroine had become such a big part of my life that I had to have a cover with her. My original cover had only a male. On occasion I would visit Romance Novel Covers with Jimmy Thomas. Hot, hot, hot, sizzle, I mean SIZZLE! There they were as plain as day. My heroine and hero stared back at me. I swear they turned and winked.

June— I posted on Facebook that I needed an editor. I think it was fate to find a wonderful cover designer, and then a “super awesome” editor, too.

Howdy, Ma’am was about as good as I could make it on my own. I know the editor I chose put her heart and soul into this book to make it shine. What a journey!

July— I was never satisfied with chapter one, two, and three, and told my editor I wanted to rework them. She asked if I had considered a prologue. I had, but only with a brief thought. I added a prologue.

August— I received the first thirteen chapters back from my editor. Finished them. In the last week of August, I received the rest of the edited manuscript back, worked on it, and sent it back for the second round of edits.

September— Started writing the second book in the series.

October— When the second round of edits came back, I fixed editor suggestions, proofread, proofread, and proofread. I cut almost a thousand words. Oh, wait, I probably wasn’t supposed to do that.

October 31st— Sent back the last round of edits. Last?? Oh, look! In time for another NaNoWriMo

November 1st— NaNoWriMo 2012—NaNo Rebel here I come! Instead of starting something brand new, I continued working on the sequel.

November 23rd — Trip to the ER. (Another story)

November 25th (I think) Reached 50 thousand words, and kept writing till the end of the month.

November 29th— Received the FINAL edits back from my wonderfully talented editor. Couldn’t open the document for a couple days because I didn’t feel well.

Final Month

December 2rd— Okay, I opened the document. Did what I had to do to finalize the changes. Still not feeling well.

December 5th— FINISHED! I said FINISHED the edits. Took a break and then started reading from the beginning.

December — Tweaked the Front and Back Matter

December 9th — Looked into ISBNs and Copyright information.

December — Talked to a formatter.

December 18 — COMPUTER CRASHED! Ekkk. No! Not now… Weird, but my computer worked after four BSOD. I hate that blue screen!

Sent the book to a formatter. Deep Breath. Okay, I need another deep breath, oh, and a couple long exhales, too.

December 21st — Uploaded to Smashwords first. This took a long time, but it was because of the size of the book cover. Still in review for Premium as we speak. Bravery took over, and I uploaded to Amazon KDP, too!

YAY!

December 21st PUBLISHED. (Paperback will follow soon.)

I have finally found my niche. Life is good again. As Velia Armano, my feisty heroine in Howdy, Ma’am would say, “La vita e bella”. (Life is beautiful.) Honest.

Now, go get a copy!

As for me? I’m celebrating because I have to do it all over again with the next book.

You’ve heard me talk about this hunky bull rider and his feisty photographer for months. “Come along and see what happens when classy takes a ride with rowdy.” Sometimes it’s a wild ride for sure, and I don’t necessarily mean the bull riding.

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Sensual And Spicy Romance by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

For more information on all of my books please visit my website- MARYJDRESSELBOOKS.COM

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